The War Against
the Terror Masters
By Michael Ledeen
St. Martin's Press
HC, 288 pgs. US$24.95
ISBN: 0-3123-0644-X

The Terror Masters

By Carol Devine-Molinweb
posted December 23, 2002

"The
best way to think of the terror network is as a collection of mafia families.
Sometimes they cooperate, sometimes they argue, sometimes they even kill
one another. But they can always put aside their differences whenever
there is a common enemy." This is just one of many pivotal insights
conveyed by scholar Michael Ledeen of the American Enterprise Institute
in his latest tome, The War Against The Terror Masters.

Since the September 11th attacks and the inception of US war activities,
the American public has sought greater perspective and understanding of
Islamic terrorism and its inner workings. Ledeen's book is a crash course
on the emergence of Islamic fundamentalism over the past thirty five years
and the establishment of its terror network that targets America, Israel
and other western democracies. More specifically, the author provides
cogent analysis of: a) the manner in which militant Islam is being financed
and promulgated, b) why we were unprepared for terrorist strikes upon
American soil, c) the current status of the "war on terrorism",
and d) how the United States and its allies will ultimately prevail against
these murderous thugs.

Certainly, it's widely recognized that the FBI, the CIA and other intelligence
agencies were terribly inadequate during the run-up to 9/11, failing to
perceive the notable threat posed by radical Islamists. And it has been
echoed by many that the "intelligence breakdown" was precipitated
by interagency rivalries that inhibited crucial information sharing, insufficient
numbers of Arabic and Farsi speakers within the ranks of the intelligence
community, the enactment of the "Torricelli Rule" (a directive
to eschew contact with unsavory characters) that thoroughly undermined
efforts to infiltration groups and organizations, and a general reluctance
throughout the intelligence community to engage in old-fashioned spycraft
and covert activities due to "political correctness."

But it was Ledeen who stands apart for his incisiveness on this particular
point: "The intelligence community fought against the notion of a
coherent terror network throughout 2001." Apparently, pre-September
11th, the extent of interaction and interdependence among the various
terrorist organizations was not really appreciated. For instance, our
"experts" thought that the Shi'ite Muslims would never cooperate
with the Sunnis. Unfortunately, this type of limited thinking thwarted
our intelligence services and prevented them from correctly evaluating
the overall landscape. In effect, the US intelligence community harbored
counterproductive attitudes, which undermined its ability to grasp the
modus operandi of the "Terror Masters" -- how they interacted,
how they operated. Actually, the leading terrorist organizations (al-Qaida,
Hizbollah, Hamas, etc.) and state sponsors of terrorism (Iran, Iraq, Syria
and Saudi Arabia) regularly aid and abet each other in the terror realm,
as well. They are all in cahoots, acting in tandem so to speak, in efforts
to pool resources, intelligence, and promote terrorist activities. Today,
this dynamic is known and accepted by those in the intelligence community.
And it's evident that al-Qaida receives many kinds of state sponsored
assistance from the "Big Three" (Iran, Iraq and Syria), in addition
to hefty amounts of money from Saudi Arabia, its financial guarantor.
Iran created "the model" for transnational terrorism years ago,
as the Ayatollah Khomeini regime readily formed alliances with any nation
or group that could buttress his Hizbollah organization.

Interestingly, Ledeen notes that Clinton appointee John Deutch was less-than-trenchant
as Director of the CIA, and inaccurately predicted in 1996 that "national
security" concerns were becoming a thing of the past. Certainly,
terrorism had decreased during the early to mid-1990's, but that was primarily
because the Soviet Union was no longer around to sponsor and facilitate
terrorist activities. In any event, the radical Islamists are now a significant
force to contend with, and "Homeland Security" is of high priority.
And John Deutch is long gone from the CIA, as is his carefree, clueless
attitude. The CIA continues attempts to revamp and reinvent itself in
response to emerging threats to our nation.

And Ledeen continues to underscore the larger assessment -- that terrorist
groups cannot exist without the help of state sponsors. Therefore, these
terror regimes must be brought down. Beyond monies and weaponry, terrorists
depend upon cooperative nations to provide safe-haven and training camps,
which are vital to their operations.

That said, Democratic politicos now out-and-about the media circuit claiming
that we should be concentrating on al-Qaida, rather than shellacking Iraq,
are clearly missing the point. We must do both. To reiterate, terrorism
cannot exist without the support of state sponsors, so logic dictates
that we must either persuade a rogue regime to mend its ways, or exert
military force so that "regime change" takes place. Although
often repeated, we have to drain the swamps (rogue nations) in order to
get rid of the mosquitoes (the terrorists). These terror regimes will
inevitably be dealt with one way or another, utilizing whatever strategies
are deemed appropriate. My hunch is that liberating Iraq and deposing
Saddam Hussein will go a long way in convincing other despots to rid themselves
of their terrorist connections.

In the case of Iran, Ledeen indicates that more than half of the population
is under 25 years of age, and are eager for more freedom. In fact, the
majority of the Iranian people are now reportedly fed up with the repressive
government. Moreover, there have already been numerous insurrections and
demonstrations, signaling that the mullahs are losing control and their
days are coming to an end. Ledeen urges that America find ways to support
those dissidents seeking the overthrow of the current Iranian regime.

Carol Devine-Molin is a regular contributor to several online magazines.

Buy Michael Ledeen's The War Against the Terror Masters at
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